Roofing A New Build House

Putting roofing on a house, is, after the foundations, the architect’s next biggest challenge, to provide a roof suitable for the house, in style, in keeping, and in budget.

Almost all new houses will carry a pitched roof and its complex, or otherwise, construction will be determined by the finishing material on the exterior of the roof.

It will be one of the most dominant features of the house, and the covering will determine the style and outlook of the finished build.

There are two basic shapes that most roofs are designed to in this day and age, they are gable and hip roofs. Where a design incorporates both types together, it is recognised as a complex roof.

The gable shape is the typical A shape running from the gable walls end to end. The hip is a roof covering on different angles, perhaps over a T shape or L shape plan.

The main components that make up a pitch roof, begin with the wall plates, which sit on top of the walls, and are what the rafters, are attached to at their base, rising to the ridge board at the peak.

These timbers bear the weight of the roof. The rafters are the main timbers to build a gable roof and are in almost every hipped roof.

The rafters are covered with a sheet of breathable felt, nailed to the rafters with galvanised nails. This acts as a secondary to any water that should penetrate the external layer of the roof, and also keeps precipitation out whilst building the roof itself.

Roof battens are then nailed through the membrane onto the rafters. These seemingly flimsy strips of wood are what actually will take the weight of the whole tile roof covering, including added extras such as wet moss or snow.

They are of varying sizes, from a standard of around 38mm wide, and a thickness of a minimum 25mm. The minimum thickness is to ensure a deep enough base for the tile nails to be driven into.

Before tiling begins, fascia boards are attached to the front and rear facing rafter ends, which will conceal them, and the roofing eaves when complete.

The tiles are fixed to the roof in slightly different ways depending on which material they are made of. Slates, which are realistically, sheeting material, have holes pre-drilled in them to allow them to be nailed to the wooden battens.

Concrete and clay formed tiles are formed so that they have retaining nibs on the back of the tile, which rest on the battens.

All the tiles are laid in overlap to ensure a waterproof finished roof.